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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24704695">Trust and Care</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lannakitty/pseuds/Lannakitty'>Lannakitty</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>World of Warcraft</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Anduin doesn't quite know what to think of it, Anduin is a complete gentleman, Beginnings of something shippy, F/M, Not really hurt comfort, Tess greymane is a badass Rogue</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 10:14:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,180</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24704695</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lannakitty/pseuds/Lannakitty</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Finally home to recuperate after the incident with the Divine Bell, there is a polite knock on Anduin's balcony door.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Tess Greymane/Anduin Wrynn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>45</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Trust and Care</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I love this ship. There's hardly anything out there for it. Finally go brave enough to write it. Not directly related to any of my other warcraft works, but it wouldn't be out of place in that setting.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The hour chimed one in the morning, drawing Anduin out of the book he'd been reading. He placed a mark and set the book aside, then groaned as he got to his feet. He'd spent far too long reading and not moving around. </span>
  <em>
    <span>"Move young prince. You must rebuild your strength."</span>
  </em>
  <span> He could hear the kind pandaren healer who'd first helped treat him after... after the bell.  It was getting easier to remember that moment; to remember the </span>
  <em>
    <span>sound</span>
  </em>
  <span> and the pain. He lived with the memory for a moment then let it go.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His body ached as he crossed the room, but the joints eased as he moved. The pain and stiffness was getting better, bit by bit, just as the memory of the injury was. He was worlds away from where he'd been just weeks ago when he'd finally said goodbye to Pandaria and come home to Stormwind. It was late but a hot bath would do him some good, he decided. Besides, it wasn't like he had much to do in the morning; his father had him under lockdown with orders to prevent him doing anything more strenuous than reading. </span>
  <em>
    <span>"Not that I really feel up to anything more,"</span>
  </em>
  <span> he had to admit to himself. </span>
  <em>
    <span>"Though, it isn't like father is exactly here to oversee things even if I did want to leave."</span>
  </em>
  <span> No, Varian was busy preparing to lay siege against Orgrimmar and Garrosh Hellscream.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He began the water for a nice, warm soak then returned to his bedroom. His shoulders protested as he pulled off his jacket and untucked his shirt. He sat on the bed and took off his shoes, further pains making themselves known. Sighing, Anduin made a mental note to set a timing device or ask Wyll to rouse him at a regular interval tomorrow. Sitting too long made him feel like a man sixty years older.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something crashed against his balcony door, rattling the glass. Anduin started at the noise. He wondered if a bird had struck it, but it was far too late in the night for birds. He got to his feet and walked into his sitting room. He considered calling for the guards, but, if it was just a bird, it would be embarrassing. Besides, it wasn't like anyone could scale the walls of the keep without being stopped.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anduin was surprised by what he saw - someone was actually out there. The glass door rattled again as a figure leaned against it. Then, before he could call for anyone, the figure knocked politely. The shadowy shape, hooded in a dark cloak, sagged against the door, the light in Anduin's room revealed-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Tess?" Anduin hurried forward and opened the balcony door. "Tess, what are you doing here?" He stepped aside as she took a few unsteady paces into the room.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Shut the door, draw the curtains," she said, voice strained.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>"Do it,"</span>
  </em>
  <span> she snapped. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her face was dirty. There were tear tracks through the grime. Her makeup had run. Dark specks of something had splattered across her cheeks. Her teeth were gritted in pain. It took Anduin a second to get over startelement and do as she asked. He closed and relocked the doors then drew the curtains before returning his attention to Tess.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She'd taken a few more staggering steps inside the room and was leaning against the wing-back chair Anduin had just been reading in. She wore a long, hooded cloak of leather. It was dirty and smelled a bit like sewage, with dark splashes of Anduin-didn't-know-what staining it. She was favoring her side and one leg, one arm was curled close to her body. Novice healer though he was, Anduin immediately saw she was injured, and that put other questions, like how she'd managed to scale the side of the keep, to the side for the moment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What happened? No, hang on, I should call for-" He turned to call for Wyll and the rest of the castle staff who were close by.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"</span>
  <em>
    <span>No.</span>
  </em>
  <span>"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The intensity of her hissed command stopped him in his tracks, and silenced him. Anduin turned back in shock.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No. You're a healer. You can help," she said. She was beginning to take off her cloak. Anduin reached out to help. It smelled of sewage and blood. Anduin grimaced then dropped it to the stones of the hearth where it wouldn't hurt anything else and some heat might dry it and help the smell.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You're bleeding." There were numerous cuts to the close-fitting leather outfit she wore. The worst had managed to slash through her armor and cut the flesh beneath. Her arms bled but the wound across her ribs was the worst.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Heal it?" she asked, in a tight voice. "Please."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She wasn't going to bleed out immediately, but it was ragged and she'd been immersed in the Light knew what. "You need a healer-" he protested.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You are one, aren't you?" Tess asked, interrupting. She'd lost one of her gloves and the hand keeping her upright was white-knuckled on the back of the chair. What had happened? Where had she </span>
  <em>
    <span>been</span>
  </em>
  <span>? "Ugh," she stood upright. "Fine. I'll go elsewhere-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"No! No, come here," Anduin said. "We need to clean that wound a bit then I can try to do a healing." If she was determined to go elsewhere she might just get hurt further. Especially if she was somehow scaling the side of the Keep! WHat was she Thinking?! How was she doing- It didn't matter. Anduin focused on herding her towards the bathroom in his suite of rooms.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Can't you just... pray it away?" Tess asked through gritted teeth as she allowed herself to be guided along. Every step was accompanied by a tight wince of pain that Anduin could almost feel himself.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Works better if the wound is cleaned. I'm not that good yet." The water was perfect and the room was filled with a wonderful mist. Anduin had her sit on a stool while he shut the water off. Tess grunted what might have been acknowledgement as she sat. She hissed as the wound pulled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Uhm, you'll need to take that off," he said, gesturing to the leather armor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He turned to his medicine cabinet. There were a number of things he had on hand to soothe the pain of his own recovery but none of those would help her. He searched through the bottles and jars of ointments looking for what would be of use here. He finally found it, shoved towards the back by the newer items. Fortunately he had a good stock of the standard poultices and, most importantly, a clean bar of soap. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He didn't know what she'd been crawling in, but the last thing he wanted to do was heal the flesh but seal any sickness inside. He cursed his lack of the ability to simply purge the whole thing as some of the senior healers could. He'd get there eventually they said, but he wasn't there </span>
  <em>
    <span>yet</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Anduin grabbed some clean washcloths from the lower shelf and a towel from the enchanted rack where it had been heating for him after his bath. Behind him he heard a lot of half-voiced curses then the sound of leather hitting the floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When he turned back, Tess was leaning against the bathtub's rim. The jerkin was off, but there was an undershirt stuck to her skin with blood. She was taking deep breaths and visibly trying to steady herself. Her skin was ashen and there was sweat on her brow. He hoped it was just exerting herself while injured rather than indication she was already developing an infection... or had been poisoned-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tess swayed, the blood draining from her face. Anduin reached out and grabbed her shoulder with one hand to steady her, a few of the towels falling to the floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Tess, you really need to see a healer."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She breathed heavily then looked up at him, eyes regaining focus. "No."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>"Why not?</span>
  </em>
  <span>" Anduin asked, feeling afraid and a bit desperate. He should have called for someone-</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She grabbed his hand to stop him from leaving. There was pain but also sincerity in her dark eyes. "Because I trust you." She swallowed and winced in pain. "</span>
  <em>
    <span>Please.</span>
  </em>
  <span>"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Gritting his teeth against his own distress, Anduin decided to help. He could do what he could then maybe convince her to see a real healer. He certainly wouldn't hurt her by starting. Unless it was poisoned. Then he'd run and get someone, no matter what she said. He nodded and she released her death grip on his hand. Tess leaned back against the tub, eyes closed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anduin set his armful of supplies down the knelt by her side. "Is it poisoned?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Not anymore. Took an antidote. Splashed it on for good measure."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>"Tess!"</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>"It's neutralized," she said, a little annoyed.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"How can you tell?" Anduin asked, aghast.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Because I'm not dead." One eye cracked open, eyeing him, evaluating him and his movements. She sighed, the eye closing and the calm faded into something more vulnerable and real. "Anduin, please. This really hurts and it's still bleeding." She was in pain and she'd trusted him to heal her. He... couldn't say no.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anduin wet one of the washcloths in the warm water of the tub and tried to loosen the blood holding the shirt in place. It had clotted but by the stain it had bled profusely and climbing probably hadn't helped. The undershirt finally came loose, dislodging the clot. I began to bleed again. When he helped her pull the shirt off, red flowed from the wound in a sheet, mingling with the dried streaks already on her skin. Blood had soaked into the top of her pants, staining the soft suede. It dripped to the tile floor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked her over to assess the situation as he'd been taught to do. Find the greatest problem first and work on that, and be careful because it might not be obvious at first. She wore a leather bra underneath the shirt, the sturdy kind soldiers wore, but healing nudity or semi-nudity didn't count. Anduin reminded himself of this fact and tried to shove away his own awkwardness as he did his assessment. There was a snag in the leather on the side but it hadn't gone through to the skin. Her chest and neck were fine. Her arms were bleeding but not potentially life threatening. He returned his attention to the greatest wound.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"This is going to hurt but I need to clean it before I close it," Anduin warned her as he began to wash his hands. The healers on the Exodar were even more stringent about that than the healers here in Stormwind. If he was going to do this, he was going to do it right.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Get on with it," Tess said. She'd braced herself with her back against the tub and was clinging to both his shoulder and the edge.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anduin rinshed off his hands and dried them on the towel. "Sorry about this," he apologized then began to probe at her injury. Tess stifled a scream. Anduin paused.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Just fix it," she hissed, annoyed and in pain. Steeling himself Anduin continued, the words of his teachers resounding in his head. This was his patient and he was a healer. His discomfort didn't matter right now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The wound had been made by something very sharp and the edges were clean - which was good because it meant healing them with the Light would be far easier. It was deeper at the back than the front. Anduin found a small piece of ripped shirt inside the wound. It was hard to remove with just his fingers. The hand on his shoulder dug in and Anduin had to stifle his own cry of pain as her grip tightened on his abused body. His patient shivered under his hands as he cleaned everything out to the best of his ability with soap, water and some of the ointments which stopped infection. All the while a small voice in the back of his head questioned the wisdom of not getting someone more experienced. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anduin could see this was not her first wound, though it was the worst. Or at least it might have been. On her bare torso, Anduin could see other scars from blades and stabs. These had been healed long ago.The fresh wounds on her arms would need to be treated. They would join the ropey scars already there. A distant part of him was surprised by how many injuries she'd sustained. It noted the scars as a commonality between them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When he was satisfied the wound was clean, Anduin put his hand over the slash.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm going to close it now."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tess made a little noise through clenched teeth and nodded once. She was shaking with pain. Anduin closed his eyes and opened himself to the Light, praying for the power to heal his friend. She trusted him to do this when, for some reason, she trusted no one else. He hoped he'd had enough training, that his faith would be enough... </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The warm peace of the Light came over him like a blanket on a cold day. He exhaled a sigh and let himself become a conduit of healing. The pained quivering under his fingers ceased. Tess sighed as the Light began to work. The wound began to close under his touch, the sides resealing together, bridged by new, pink flesh. When the Light whispered to him that the wound had been sealed, Anduin murmured a prayer of thanks then let it go.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anduin saw what he had accomplished and smiled up at his patient. Deep bone-weariness took hold of him suddenly. The world spun and became grey at the edges. He swayed on his knees, about to fall. Strong hands caught him before his head collided with the tub or the floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Easy," Tess said, helping him to lean back against the warm porcelain tub.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anduin grimaced and held his head. The stars faded from his vision and the pounding in his ears stopped after a while.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You okay?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Overdid it, maybe." Anduin said. "I don't think I can close the wounds on your arms."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That's okay. You got the worst of the lot," she said, gingerly sitting across from him. She'd scrubbed her face at some point. She began to work on her arms herself, cleaning them up and putting some of the poultices on them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anduin, utterly drained by the healing effort when he was recovering himself, watched as she worked. She'd done this before. Her movements were too familiar. What had she been doing since he'd last seen her? It'd been months and... a lot had happened to them both.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What happened?" he asked, nodding slightly at her wounds.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her motions slowed but never stopped. "Got into a fight with someone. A few actually. I won."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Why come here?" Anduin asked. "Surely there's someone else you could have gone to."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Not as close," she said. She frowned as she struggled to secure a bandage around the worst of the wounds. Anduin reached out to help her secure it then watched as she began the process on the next injury.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Did you really scale the wall?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She flashed him a smile of mischievous devilry, but did not admit to what she'd done. Anduin frowned at her. It was hard to believe she'd scaled the wall as injured as she was. It was equally hard to believe that the guards wouldn't have stopped her and hauled her in to see a healer. But Anduin couldn't think of how else she'd managed to get to his balcony. Or how she'd come by the injury in the first place... Any of them, really.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"You got into a fight."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She nodded. "I did."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"But you're- I mean-"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm a princess?" she asked, dryly. "You're a prince. Didn't stop you from running at Hellscream to stop a magical bell from destroying the world."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anduin rolled his eyes, but felt his cheeks heat. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant, you're you. Garrosh didn't care that I'm the heir of Stormwind. I was just in the way. You're the heir of Gilneas."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Who'd fight me, you mean?" she asked, beginning on the other arm.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yes," he said, reaching out to help now that the dizziness was abating.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Someone who didn't care," she told him. She let him clean out and affix healing pastes and herbs to her remaining wounds. "Not everyone gives a damn about royalty. Others would want to see me dead because I am my father's daughter and being his heir only makes me more of a target." Anduin frowned at her words but found he could not disagree. Assassination attempts hadn't been common, but they he had lived through the likes of Onyxia which was almost the same.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Why?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Why what?" she asked, flexing her arm as she tested the bend and fold of the bandages.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Why were you fighting?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tess's movements paused for a brief moment. Her dark eyes met his. "Why did you charge Garrosh?" She stood and stepped over his legs, stance not entirely stable, scooping her discarded jerkin from the counter. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"What do you mean?" Anduin hauled himself up off the floor to follow her. "Slow down."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I mean exactly that. Sometimes you have to act," she said as she walked. She was walking slowly as the effects of the healing caught up with her too. She leaned against his wardrobe as her face went ashen.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anduin grabbed for her as she began to sink down. She squealed as he grabbed her side.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Sorry!" The pain seemed to give her some control back and the two of them managed to stagger over to the stupidly plush couch in Anduin's sitting room. It had been strange to move into more "adult" apartments on his return from the Exodar when he'd lived fairly simply and almost monastically before, but Anduin was thankful for the furniture now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They practically fell into the couch, injured and exhausted. Anduin's bones ached and he was tired from the late hour as well as from the energy he'd used in the healing. Tess had lost the Light only knew how much blood and had possibly scaled a wall before she'd been healed which used some of the patient's energy as well.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tess made a little noise of discomfort as she shifted on the too large and too plush couch. She'd ended up awkwardly leaning into him as the couch did its best to swallow them whole. The couch was great for naps but getting out of it was difficult for even the able bodied, which neither of them were right now.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Sorry."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"S'fine," she murmured, then half covered a yawn, which only made Anduin feel more drowsy himself. She tried to move again but it was sluggish and painful. The fight seemed to evaporate from her. She leaned heavily against him, her skin a little warm but not yet fever hot. "M'just gonna stay here a bit."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I think you should do that," he said. Awkward as it was, she wasn't falling and getting worse injuries. If she left here healed and fine, then everything was fine; He hadn't done the wrong thing in not sending her to any of the palace's staff.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She grumbled wordlessly and let her head fall against his shoulder. Anduin tried to extricate his arm but he was pinned behind her and the bending and moving hit her side, the movement causing a little noise of pain.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>This was fine. She was still his patient, he could endure. Skin contact would just let him know if he'd missed something and she was developing a fever. It was fine. Awkward, but he was a healer, he would endure. He was a healer and a gentleman besides.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The fire crackled in the hearth and the hour chimed, reminding Anduin of the late hour. It was almost early. She'd been out in the dead of night. Did she go out at night often? He wondered who she had been fighting. Someone who didn't care who she was. Somehow it was also someone she'd felt compelled to stop, just as he'd been compelled to stop Garrosh. Her words could have been baiting, but Anduin's gut told him they weren't.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When had she become a knife fighter? Had she always been that way? The wounds were from knives. Maybe swords? Anduin silently cursed his continuing lack of experience. Had those scars on her arms always been there? He didn't think they'd been there the first time they'd met. He couldn't recall seeing them the times they'd met after that when both were in Stormwind for holidays and Anduin hadn't been studying on the Exodar. He hadn't seen her in awhile, though. It seemed that while he'd been faced with some serious events in Pandaria, she might have been facing some serious challenges as well... But why not go to her parents if she was hurt?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Several reasons why immediately came forward. Genn would never have allowed Tess to get into danger any more than his own father would have let him. His father had nearly torn Pandaria apart trying to get to him and Anduin got the sense that Genn Greymane was the same sort of parent.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So, Anduin concluded, Genn didn't know.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Or if he did, she didn't want him to know about this particular evening out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anduin started to ask Tess about this, when he realized she was asleep. She'd come in looking far older and very adult. Now she looked younger. She wasn't that much older than he was, but the commanding presence she'd shown had made her seem far more mature.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>What was she doing getting into knife fights in the dead of night? </span>
  <em>
    <span>When </span>
  </em>
  <span>had she become a fighter? His mind kept circling back to that. Without a shirt Anduin could see the red flesh of her wound was still closed. It would probably scar and join the others. She had muscle which wasn't too surprising if she was scaling walls. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Where </span>
  </em>
  <span>had she learned </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span>?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She'd been so proper and polite every other time they'd met. Well, perhaps there had been a glint in her eye and sly smile. She was certainly quick of wit and her comments about the stuffier and more insufferable nobles had sunk like finely placed daggers... He'd not expected the roguishness to extend into being quite so literal.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Who</span>
  </em>
  <span> had she been fighting? Anduin had been chastised for his actions and been told they were reckless even if they had ultimately, probably, saved the world or at least part of it. What was Tess doing? Was she saving the world elsewhere? He was certain Genn did not know.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was a compelling puzzle. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Tess shifted, raven locks of hair falling into her face. She'd managed to get it clean while he'd been working. The makeup was entirely gone. Maybe that also made her look younger. He fought the impulse to brush the hair out her face and instead sat on his hand. The other was trapped behind her back. He was a healer. She was a patient. This was fine. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anduin studied her. They'd been able to get along easily. It helped to finally speak with someone else who had the same pressures and expectations. It'd been nice to have a friend who understood. Somehow, somewhere along the line, she'd decided she </span>
  <em>
    <span>trusted </span>
  </em>
  <span>him. That... He didn't know how he felt about that. Good but also strange.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             <br/></span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anduin sighed, leaned his head back against the far too comfy couch cushions and waited for her to rouse from her nap so he could reclaim his arm and maybe convince her to go see a real healer. For now he'd shut his eyes for just a moment.</span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>Anduin woke before dawn. The birds were already up as the sky lightened, heralding the coming sunrise. The fire had burned to low coals but it was far from being out. His neck hurt from the awkward sleeping position.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>There was no sign of Tess.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Frowning, Anduin looked around. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>With a grunt he climbed out of the monstrously plush couch and got to his feet. The filthy cloak was gone. In his bathroom, the tub had been drained and there were no signs of blood on the tile floor. There were no bloody washcloths to be found, even in the bin for laundry.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Had it been just a dream?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anduin yawned and scratched his chest. Something crinkled against his fingers. Tucked into the laces was a folded piece of paper. Frowning, he opened it. The script was perfectly elegant, the result of years of royal tutoring.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Thanks. Owe you one. T."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Huh. Not a dream.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Anduin went to throw the note out, then decided instead to put it between the pages of the book he'd been reading. Shaking his head, Anduin returned to his bed, fell face first into the comforters, and was asleep in moments.</span>
</p>
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